Food items of non-uniform thickness can present problems for uniform and efficient cooking, particularly for a commercial restaurant where large numbers of such food items need to be cooked efficiently and uniformly.
Enclosures adapted for simultaneous steaming and grilling of such food items on a platen surface have been employed. In particular, it has been known to cook one or more food items on a heated platen located under an enclosure assembly having a cover, with a small water container mounted on the cover for dripping water onto the platen surface. The water produces steam, which cooks the thinner portions of the food items not in direct contact with the heated platen. However, such an assembly is only adapted for one-sided grilling, and so the food items must be turned over typically about halfway through the cooking process to permit grilling on the opposite side. This method of cooking such food items requires substantial labor and time.
An efficient, practical and economical device and method for the simultaneous steaming and two-sided grilling, such as on a clamshell grill, of food items, including those that have substantial variations in thickness, and of food items having variations in nominal thickness from one food item to another is needed.
A need exists for a cooking device and method for simultaneous steaming and two-sided grilling on a flat platen grill of food items having non-uniform thickness and variations in nominal thickness from one food item to the next.